July 24, 2000
The Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists and the Washington Kurdish Institute today voiced opposition to the possible US sale of 145 attack helicopters to Turkey until Ankara makes concrete improvements in its human rights practices and ends repressive policies that deny cultural and political rights for Kurds. The groups urged the US administration to uphold its stated policy to make the sale of advanced weaponry to Turkey contingent upon improvements in human rights practices.
The Turkish government announced on July 21 the selection of Bell Helicopter Textron over two other finalists to co-produce 145 attack helicopters, a deal worth about $4 billion. In a move designed to pressure the Clinton administration, Turkey also announced that it would not rule out choosing the KA-50 helicopter from a Russian-Israeli consortium if the US fails to grant an export license.
When approving a marketing license for US companies in late 1997, the Clinton administration stated that it would not approve a final export license unless Turkey made significant progress in its human rights practices. The State Department later outlined specific human rights reforms that were needed, but little or no progress has been made in these areas, which include ending impunity for torture, decriminalization of free speech, expansion of political participation, and helping resettle Turkey’s large group of displaced persons. Opposition to the sale has been expressed by many Members of Congress and a growing coalition of non-governmental organizations.
“Turkey has unfortunately made little or no progress in any human rights area identified by the State Department,” said Mike Amitay, Director of the Washington Kurdish Institute. “Actually, the government has stepped up campaigns to repress Kurdish and other political parties and continues to harass, torture and otherwise restrict dissident opinions. Approving this sale sends the clear message that the Clinton administration is concerned more about corporate profit and election politics than with human rights or regional stability. The sale will help hardliners in Turkey resist efforts of reformers trying to bring the country’s human rights practices in line with EU entry standards.”
Opposition to the sale also stems from concerns that highly advanced US technology will be transferred to the local production partner, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which is seeking to become an independent producer of attack helicopters. The Russian competitor already promised unlimited technology transfers to TAI plus the possibility of third party sales of jointly produced gunships. “By keeping open the possibility of a deal with the Russian firm, Turkey is trying to blackmail the US government and Bell Textron into authorizing the transfer of Bell Textron’s latest technology. The US government should stand up to this blatant form of manipulation.” said Project Director Tamar Gabelnick.
The deal is also inadvisable because of the implications for peace and stability in the region. Fifteen years of conflict between the Turkish military and Kurdish rebels have left over 35,000 people dead, 3,000 villages destroyed, and between 500,000 and 1.5 million people displaced. US-origin military equipment has been used throughout the conflict, often in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. The conflict has also been a major contributing factor in Turkey’s persistent pattern of human rights abuses. While the Kurdish rebels have offered to lay down their arms and negotiate for limited political and cultural rights, the Turkish military establishment has refused to consider a political settlement.
Gabelnick added that the helicopter sale could also fuel a regional arms race just when relations between Greece and Turkey are beginning to improve. “This is a really bad moment for Turkey to be stocking up on advanced military equipment,” argued Gabelnick. “Bringing such a large quantity of arms into this tense region would undermine confidence-building measures recently agreed to by Turkey and Greece.”
Contacts: Tamar Gabelnick, Federation of American Scientists, 
202-675-1018
Mike Amitay, Washington Kurdish Insitute, 202-484-0140
For more information, see the report by the Federation of American Scientists and the World Policy Institute,
“Arming Repression: US Arms Sales to Turkey During the Clinton Administration.”